Zoo license renewed despite concerns over 500 dead animals
Safari Zoo, were nearly 500 animals have died, will stay open after the local council decided to renew its license. NGOs are speaking out as the zoo has a poor track record when it comes to animal welfare.
Safari Zoo, known as South Lakes Safari Zoo has been granted a new license and will remain open, the Independent reports. But NGOs are still voicing concerns over the zoo’s poor track record. During the hearings for the renewal of the license, the Captive Animal’s Protection Society pointed out that ex-employees and volunteers come forward to speak out about the appalling conditions in which animals were forced to live.
One ex-employee of the zoo claims he had been told by management to feed the animals “mouldy bread” and had to regularly “beg for scraps of food” from the zoo’s restaurant “just to give the animals some fresh food”. In the statement this witness gave to the council, he outlined the struggles he says he faced trying to make sure the animals were fed correctly, claiming “none of the animals are getting the correct diets”. He also claimed animals have continued to die at the zoo.
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The testimony is not surprising as a report released at the beginning of this year showed that the zoo lacked proper veterinary care and serious concerns were expressed by inspectors that found emaciated animals, and some have died due to poor safety standards. The inspectors recommended that the zoo should not receive a renewal of its license.
The previous report showed that three animals from the zoo were hit by the train while one lemur was eaten by a tiger, four Inca terns died from exposure and five Nyalas died withing three weeks from arriving at the Safari Zoo. In total there were nearly 500 dead animals reported at the zoo.
But the same inspection team, now says that it is encouraged by the reforms that the new management has undertaken and recommended the renewal of the license.
CAPS is still concerned about the conditions at the zoo, especially as the ex-employee that came forward recounted that food shortages are still affecting the animals. He said that in several instances he had to buy food for the animals out of his own pocket and there are still issues with animals not getting the correct diet.
Furthermore, since January 2017, there were several animal deaths reported, including an adult male babirusa, a mongoose, a leopard tortoise, a scarlet ibis,a rhea and an emaciated penguin.
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